Projo Sox Blog

TUESDAY'S GAME TO WATCH

Boston at Tampa Bay (7:08 p.m. EDT). Jon Lester (9-7, 3.90 ERA) faces Tampa Bay's Matt Garza (7-8, 3.69) in the opener of a two-game series at Tropicana Field. The Red Sox have won four consecutive games.

MONDAY'S STARS

-Rajai Davis, Athletics, had a pinch-hit triple down the right field line to drive in two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and lift Oakland to a 3-2 victory over Texas.

-Clete Thomas, Tigers, homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give Detroit a 6-5 win over Baltimore.

-Randy Wells, Cubs, took a shutout into the eighth inning and helped Chicago beat the Reds 4-2.

-Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks, hit two home runs to lift Arizona to a 6-5 win over the New York Mets.

-Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals, homered to help Washington rally to beat Pittsburgh 8-4 .

-Carl Crawford, Rays, had three hits and three RBIs to lead Tampa Bay to a 10-4 win over Kansas City.

SURGERY

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb had shoulder surgery Monday, putting an end to a difficult season for the usually durable right-hander. Arizona was expected to be a playoff contender this year with Webb and Dan Haren at the front of its rotation. But Webb never pitched again after a no-decision against Colorado on opening day and the Diamondbacks quickly fell off the pace in the NL West.

WILD THING

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw lost for the first time since June 10, issuing a season-high six walks, including four straight in the fourth inning to bring in two of his three runs allowed. Kershaw had an 0.79 ERA in his previous nine starts.

SNAPPED

Matt Cain lost for the first time in the last six games he started with the Giants' 4-3 defeat to Houston. Cain (12-3) failed in his bid to become the fourth pitcher in Giants history to win 13 of his first 15 decisions in a season. He allowed two homers in a game for the first time since June 9.

STRUGGLING

Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang lost his ninth straight decision with the Reds' 4-2 defeat by Chicago. Harang (5-13), who leads the majors in losses, hasn't won since May 25. It's the deepest slump of his career and the longest losing streak by a Reds pitcher since Danny Graves lost 10 straight between the 2003 and 2004.

STATS

Alex Gonzalez was out of the Reds' starting lineup and ended an 0-for-20 slump when he homered in the eighth inning. ... The A's won for the third time in 53 games when trailing after the eighth inning. ... Oakland outfielder Rajai Davis has 16 RBIs since the All-Star Break. ... Zack Greinke allowed six runs and 10 hits over five innings, and is 0-4 in six starts since his last win on June 28 at Pittsburgh. He is 0-3 in five career games, including four starts, at Tropicana Field. ... Royals 3B Alex Gordon, hitless in 11 at-bats in the first three games of the series, was out of the starting lineup. Gordon is 0 for 34 overall at Tropicana Field.

SPEAKING

"This is one of my favorite starts of my career. In the past, I would have fallen apart - when I struggled in the first, I would never make it out of the fourth. Tonight, I went eight and kept us in the game." - Detroit starter Justin Verlander, who gave up five runs in the first inning before settling down to stymie the Orioles the rest of the game.

THIS DATE IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1910 - Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia A's and Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox hooked up in a 16-inning scoreless tie. Coombs struck out 18 and allowed three hits.

1929 - The Cleveland Indians, down to their last out and trailing 6-5, scored nine runs in the ninth inning for a 14-6 victory over the New York Yankees.

1955 - Chicago's Ernie Banks hit three home runs at Wrigley against three Pirates pitchers to lead the Cubs to an 11-10 win.

1963 - New York's Mickey Mantle, batting for the first time in two months after breaking his left foot, hit a pinch home run as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-10 for a split of a doubleheader.

1982 - Joel Youngblood became the first player in major league history to play and get a base hit for two different teams in two different cities in the same day. In the afternoon, his hit drove in the winning run for the New York Mets in a 7-4 victory at Chicago. After the game, he was traded to the Montreal Expos and played that night in Philadelphia. He entered the game in right field in the fourth inning and later got a single.

1985 - Tom Seaver, 40, became the 17th 300-game winner in major league history with a six-hitter - all singles - as the Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Yankees 4-1 on Phil Rizzuto Day. Seaver walked one and struck out seven, giving him 3,499 in his 19-year career.

1985 - Rod Carew of the California Angels got his 3,000th hit in a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins, his first major league team.

1989 - Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays, who lost consecutive no-hit bids with two outs in the ninth inning last September, came within one out of a perfect game before settling for a two-hit 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees. Roberto Kelly's double spoiled Stieb's bid.

1997 - Brad Radke of Minnesota posted his 12th straight victory, pitching seven strong innings in the Twins' 9-3 win over Toronto. Radke became the third pitcher since 1950 to win 12 consecutive starts.

2006 - Chase Utley went 0-for-5 in Philadelphia's 5-3 victory over the New York Mets, ending a 35-game hitting streak that tied him for the 10th longest in major league history and the fourth longest in National League history.

2007 - Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs with a first-inning homer in a 16-8 victory over Kansas City. Rodriguez's homer came eight days after the slugger celebrated his 32nd birthday, eclipsing Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days). A-Rod became the 22nd player to reach the mark.

Today's birthdays: Scott Linebrink 33; Bob Howry 36.

 Tags  Baseball Today Rajai Davis

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